Indonesian officials ask tourists for bribes

It seems to be common for officials in Indonesia to ask tourists for cash “donations”, sometimes threateningly. Tourists might be told, for example, that they will get “express treatment” at the airport in Bali if they pay $20.00. Or immigration officers in Jakarta may take someone to the side to say there are “irregularities” on their tourist visa and that $10.00 will put it right.Most recently the issue came to light when a police traffic officer in Bali was caught on hidden camera by a Dutch tourist who happened to be a journalist. He later posted the film on YouTube. Two officers have since been given short prison terms pending disciplinary charges.The event coincides with the trial beginning in Jakarta of Inspector General Djoko Susilo, a former chief of Indonesia’s National Police Traffic Corps, who is charged with money-laundering.eTN[photo courtesy Jakarta Tourism and Culture Office]